Brown-Kelly tandem giving PW opponents fits

Plymouth Whitemarsh's Corey Kelly holds onto the ball as Upper Dublin's Jino Park tries to take him down during Thursday night's game held at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School. Rebecca Savedow/Times Herald Staff 10.06.11

WHITEMARSH – They’ve been classmates, rivals and comrades on the scout team.

And now, Corey Kelly and Terry Brown are the area’s best backfield tandem for a Plymouth Whitemarsh High football team possibly headed toward a second straight Suburban One League American Conference championship.

A season ago, the tandem was the lesser-known members of a Colonials backfield that included star quarterback Russhon Phillips and running back Xavier Ellington. Kelly eventually became a starter at fullback, ultimately rushing for 505 yards and six touchdowns, while Brown battled injuries to both ankles for much of the season.

But there was little doubt the duo was destined to be a tandem.

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“(PW assistant) Coach (Key) Moore told us back during the summer that his goal was for each of us to run for 1,500 yards this season,” Brown said.

Moore has not been far off.

Through six weeks of the regular season, Kelly and Brown have combined for 1,616 rushing yards and 17 rushing touchdowns, and their respective totals have been almost identical, as Kelly has racked up 838 yards and 11 scores while Brown has accumulated 778 stripes and six scores. And only once, in Week Four when Kelly was limited to 81 yards (on only 11 carries) has either of them been held under 100 yards in a game.

“It’s because they’re so similar,” said PW head coach Dan Chang, when asked why the twosome have been so productive. “When you have two star, legitimate running backs, it makes it hard for teams to key on one guy.

“They both seem to run harder as the game progresses and they both run equally well inside or outside.”

Brown transferred to PW after stops at both Mastbaum and International Christian High School, and immediately found himself in a duel with Kelly for the 3-back (or fullback) slot in the Colonials’ option offense. Kelly won out, while Brown spent a good part of the year trying to get healthy.

“I hurt both my ankles,” Brown said. “I came back for a game against Wissahickon, then hurt my ankle again the next week against Upper Dublin.”

Kelly won the fullback job and contributed mightily to the Colonials’ first SOL American title since 2005. But his was not a starring role.

“Last year, I wasn’t one of the key offensive players,” Kelly said, “but I knew once (Phillips and Ellington) left we were going to have people step up – and that was me and Terry.”

While the two had never shared the same backfield at the varsity level, they did see plenty of time as a duo.

“Hey, last year Russhon and Xavier were the main guys, but Pete (current PW quarterback Pete Giorgio), Corey and I were playing on the scout team,” Brown recalled. “We had to play hard to help prepare our team to win.”

And while Brown did lose the fullback job to Kelly last season, both insist it was a friendly rivalry.

It would be safe to say the two have been one of the area’s biggest surprises.

But not to the two running backs.

“I’m not surprised at all,” Kelly said. “I could see it during camp, defenses were having a hard time stopping us. We’re working as a team, and the way our option offense works, (opposition) teams don’t know which of us is going to get the ball.

“Most of the time I’m the off-tackle runner and Terry gets the ball outside. I’m still the three, and now Terry is the four. And you can see, the way he’s been running this year, the position fits him great.”

“Those two work so well together,” Chang said. “When one has to block for the other, they’re happy to do it. And that sets a great example for the rest of the team.”

It seems the only thing that can stop the dynamic duo is injury, and Brown has taken more than his share of punishment this year.

But the senior refuses to miss time.

“Like my mom told me, this is not a year to get injured,” Brown laughed. “She told me I had to play every game.”

The same goes for Kelly.

“I do take a beating,” he said, “but Terry takes a beating, too.

“Right now we’re just focused on winning each game. Our main focus is a (league) championship and to win our first playoff game.”

“Our goal is to win the league again,” Brown added. “But after losing that playoff game last year (to Central Bucks South), we’re even more hungry.”